US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane en route to El Salvador at Panama Pacifico International Airport in Panama City on February 3, 2025. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / Pool AP / AFP)
San Salvador: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday voiced optimism that Panama would address concerns over Chinese influence in the Panama Canal, bringing down the tone after President Donald Trump's threats to seize the vital waterway.
A day after he demanded through a statement that Panama take immediate steps, Rubio took a more diplomatic approach, acknowledging the issue was "delicate" for Panama and praising its efforts.
"It was a worthwhile visit and very respectful. It is one that I think is going to achieve potentially good things that assuage concerns we have," Rubio told reporters after arriving from Panama in El Salvador.
"Time will tell -- we'll see -- but I feel good about it," he said.
Rubio praised Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino's decision to exit the Belt and Road Initiative, China's signature infrastructure-building program.
Mulino, speaking to reporters Sunday, said that Panama would not renew its membership and would look whether it can leave earlier than planned.
Rubio called it a "good" step, noting that Panama -- which recognized Beijing over Taiwan during Trump's first term -- becomes the first country in Latin America to ditch the Belt and Road.
Rubio said to expect more announcements in the coming days. He suggested an agreement on US concerns over Panama charging US military vessels that go through the canal even though Washington is obliged to defend the waterway, the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Trump in his inaugural address said the United States would be "taking back" the canal -- built more than a century ago by Washington with Afro-Caribbean labor and handed back at the end of 1999 to Panama.
Just Sunday, Trump warned of "very powerful" actions against Panama.
Rubio praised Panama as a "great partner" on Trump's top priority of stopping migration.
Before leaving Panama, Rubio observed a flight back of Colombians detained as they crossed the Darien Gap, a dense jungle that many migrants pass through towards the United States, through a deportation program negotiated under former president Joe Biden.
